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THE 

WAYSIDE OF LIFE 



Being a Collection of Poems, Essays 

and Paragraphs Written by 

the Spirit-Controls of 

LAURA SMITH ELLSWORTH 



Introduction by W. B. CONNOLLY 



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New York 
PRIVATELY PRINTED 

1907 



Library oTcongressj 

two Copies Receives 

JAN 21 1908 

QottfrliM ^Z-A 

; S~£A<>3 



* 



Copyright, 1906, by 
LAURA SMITH ELLSWORTH'- 



INTRODUCTION 

In this analytical age in which we live there is 
a constantly growing desire in the minds of 
progressive people to know the why^and wherefore 
of all things, many of which have in past years 
gone on unexplained. This inherent desire "to 
know" is but natural to all logical thinkers, and is, 
no doubt, one of the most important factors in 
the advancement of human intelligence, for it acts 
as a constant spur to drive men and women on 
into deeper thought and more intricate experi- 
mentation, with the hope of accurately determin- 
ing the exact causes which underlie all known 
phenomena. 

At the present time there is a keen interest 
among thousands of people in both Europe and 
America and other countries regarding the sub- 
ject of Spiritualism. Many of the scientific men 
of our time laugh at the claim of spirit return, 
while other scientific men of high standing be- 
lieve that spirit return is a fact in nature. Many 
strictly orthodox clergymen of the old school deny 
its possibility, while on the other hand, many of 
the more progressive element of the clergy admit 
its possibility and its probability. 

It is an unwise act to condemn or ridicule any 

iii 



INTRODUCTION 

subject with which we are unfamiliar, and be- 
cause one out of ten, or nine out of ten, as the 
case may be, so-called mediums are fraudulent — 
it is no sign or reason that all are deceptive. We 
should ever bear in mind that there would be no 
bogus bank-notes in circulation if there had never 
been a genuine. 

"The Wayside of Life" is the result of what 
has been written supposedly by disembodied 
spirits through the instrumentality of a medium 
whose honesty and integrity are beyond question. 
For over twenty years the medium, Mrs. Laura 
Smith Ellsworth, has been constantly before the 
public as a spiritual medium and inspirational 
lecturer in Saratoga Springs and other Eastern 
New York towns. 

Every poem, essay and paragraph in this vol- 
ume was written while the medium was under 
spirit "control"; that is, she was totally uncon- 
scious of what was being written or spoken (the 
controlling spirit frequently talked to other mem- 
bers of the family), and when she regained nor- 
mal consciousness, she had not the slightest recol- 
lection of what had transpired in the intervening 
time. 

The volume was begun one winter's afternoon, 
when, without warning or any foreknowledge 
whatever, the medium was " controlled, ' ' and 
wrote the following in a large and very coarse 
handwriting, entirely foreign to her own: 

iv 



INTRODUCTION 

"Many thoughts, pure and simple, through this 
hand will I write, and unto many hearts bring 
gladness, through the thoughts I shall advance." 

Later on the same evening she was again "con- 
trolled, ' ' and wrote : 

"From the heights will I come, and speak unto 
thee from the higher spheres of glory and beauty. 
Ye will hear my voice through the world; all my 
power shall be felt; I am he whom thou thinkest; 
yea, and more shall I say unto you." 

The volume has been written during spare mo- 
ments of a very busy life and has taken about six 
months' time. The handwriting varies greatly in 
the different writings, and the " controlling" 
spirits have said that as many as twelve separate 
and distinct personalities have contributed. Near- 
ly all gave their names, but requested the work 
published anonymously. 

One evening, after the writings had ceased, the 
medium was again "controlled," and wrote the 
following : 

■ ' To thee I give my benediction as I would give 
it to the Great Divine in All. I send thee the soul- 
ful love which the sunshine gives to the pansies; 
as the father feeds his children; as the mother 
gives to the babe at the breast; as the sunshine 



INTRODUCTION 

gives strength and power to the earth; so to thee 
do I this night give my strength and love to yon 
to go on and do a work in the earth plane, whereby 
all may be helped and strengthened by thy words 
and deeds." 

The critical reader will find in a few places some 
thoughts which are very similar to others that 
have already been expressed in days gone by; 
but they have been purposely included with all 
the rest in order that the reader might judge of the 
work as a whole and not in part. 

In passing it may be interesting to know that 
the medium in question has intelligently conversed 
in the German, Italian and Indian languages while 
under "control," although she has no knowledge 
of these languages when in the normal state. 

The great variation in the personality of the 
writings, the speaking of foreign languages while 
in the "control" condition, and numberless other 
"tests" of equal importance, point toward the 
truth of spirit return. I do not say it is a scien- 
tific fact — I do not know ; but if this volume serves 
to throw additional light on life's pathway, its 
mission will have been fulfilled. 

Wm. B. Connolly. 



VI 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

God 3 

Inspiration 3 

God's Greatest Temples 3 

Prayer 3 

An Angel Prayer 4 

There Is No Death 5 

Soul Growth 6 

Sunlight and Shadows 7 

The Truth 8 

The Immortality of the Soul 9 

Set for Me a Chair 10 

Failures 12 

A Meditation 12 

Manhood 13 

The Twin Murderers 14 

As It Really Is 15 

Free Thought 10 

Search for Light 16 

The World Moves On 17 

The Unanswered 17 

Give Us the New 18 

What Is Fear? 19 

Will You Tell Me? 20 

Contentment 21 

The Beautiful Flower, Love 22 

All Things Essential 23 

Attune with the Soul 24 

The Unthinkable 25 

People's Idols 26 

Try to Understand 27 

Do Something 28 

The Difference 29 

What Is the Creator? 30 

The Only Grave You'll Ever Know 31 

Infinite Love 32 

Ambition 33 

vii 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Future Cities 34 

Look foe the Highest 36 

From Another World 37 

Mental Deformities 39 

Paper 39 

From Sister Grace to Brother Will 40 

The Soul Seeks Its Own Level 41 

A Spirit Prophecy 42 

A Mother's Love 43 

Love and Kindness 46 

Take a Lesson from Nature 46 

Meditation 49 

Fortune's Wheel 50 

To the Disheartened Ones 51 

Reality of Thought 52 

Neither Beauty Nor Money 53 

A Spring Day 54 

Universal Love 54 

Someone to Love 56 

It Is Better So 57 

Equality's Wing 61 

What Am I? 63 

Facts 65 

Music 66 

Sowing and Reaping 68 

Wake Up 69 

For the Grunters 70 

Uncommon Sense 71 

Unsatisfied 72 

Growth 73 

Cultivate Cheerfulness 74 

Understand Self 75 

As You Grow Old 76 

Supplication 77 

The God in All 82 

Time 83 

The Dtvine Gateway 83 

Eternal Change 85 

The Loom of Life 88 

viii 



'Tis Freedom's gospel by which we swear, 
Freedom to seek truth everywhere, 
Unmindful of sect or name : 
This is the freedom we proclaim. 



To all souls who are dissatisfied with things and 
conditions as they find them, and are ever strug- 
gling for nobler and better things, we dedicate 
this book. 

The Spieit Authobs. 



GOD'S GREATEST BUILDINGS 

GOD 

God is the spirit of good, 
The life which permeates all; 
The substance in which we live. 
All good is God, all God is good. 

INSPIRATION 

Inspiration is the God Wave breathing into our 
beings the pure thoughts which permeate all space, 
fill all souls with love, and breathe into existence 
truth, power and eternal happiness. 



God 's greatest buildings are the men and women 
who have used their intellectual powers to the 
greatest advantage in helping to unfold real truths 
as they see them. 

PRAYER 

Peayer is the soul's sincere desire, expressed or 
unuttered. It is the hidden soul offering a suppli- 
cation of pure trust to an Invisible Force. 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

AST ANGEL PEAYEE 

Beeathe upon us, Spirit of Love, the blessing 
of peace and understanding. Open our eyes that 
we may see the light ! Open our ears that we may 
hear the truth ! Open our hearts that in them may 
dwell the spirit of all that is sweet and good and 
true! 

We hear the cry of anguish — the wail of despair 
that comes up from a wounded, tired, and sin-sick 
world; and we would that the peace of the spirit 
would be given out, and like a sweet wind from 
Heaven, be wafted over the world until all are 
happier and better, filled with divine love. 

May the efforts of all others who are working 
in the direction of peace and good be blessed. 
May they feel the oneness with all spiritual work- 
ers everywhere ; and may we all feel the pure soul 
of love. God guide us ever. 



DEATH SEVERS NO LINK 

THEKE IS NO DEATH 

Life, past, present and future, constitutes one 
chain. Death severs no conscious link. Our con- 
sciousness, our memories, and our loves go with 
us to this better land. Unseen intelligences, once 
mortal and bound to you by the tender cords of 
sympathy, still walk in your midst, stand by your 
sides and listen to your echoing voices, and what 
spiritually benefited us on earth, benefits us still. 



That which thou wouldst that man should give 
to thee, give to them that they may be the divine 
dispersers of thy good deeds in the harvest of thy 
soul's reaping. 



Plant a tree or dig a well in the desert of life. 
Some weary traveler will sit beneath the shade of 
the tree, or drink the waters of the well, and thou 
shalt be a blessed benefactor among men. 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

SOUL GKOWTH 

1 'Tell me — what changes does Death bring V 9 
Asked an earth child of a spirit one day. 
The spirit made answer in voice good and 

strong — 
"I'll answer yon gladly withont delay: 

1 ' If your life is as pnre as the drifting snow. 
When yon pass from the earthly clay, 
Yon still will be pnre in yonr spirit home, 
For yonr goodness will live alway. 

"And yon can't make a saint of a sinner — ■ 
Not by a word or a prayer ; 
They have to work ont their redemption 
Before they are happy there. 

"If yon have lived for yonrself alone, 
Never thinking of others' good; 
If you've been impure in earthly life, 
And harmed every one you could — 

"You will die as you lived, with the same desires 
When you enter this heavenly plane ; 
And see where you made the mistakes in lif e, 
And you're sure to start over again. 

"For life is a chain of endless desires — 
For the good and the bad as well ; 
And when you come into your spirit home, 
YOU BRING EITHER YOUR HEAVEN OR 
HELL. 

6 



SUNLIGHT AND SHADOWS 

t i But those who have come here and found out the 
law 
"Which Nature has set for us all, 
They will hold out their hands and help you to 
rise 
To a plane where you never can fall." 

SUNLIGHT AND SHADOWS 

The shadows in every man's life make the sun- 
shine more welcome. The tears are the dewdrops 
on the mountains of possibility, and the smiles are 
like the perfume to the sick and weary soul. There- 
fore send forth the sunlight; do not be ashamed 
of the tears, and always smile when some heart is 
sad. 

You never know what good a warm handclasp, 
a kind look, or a word may be to the despondent 
one. There is sunshine enough for all ; and if you 
can be instrumental in brushing away the cob- 
webs from some poor disheartened sister's or 
brother's eyes, so they may discern the beautiful — 
which is their own God-given inheritance — you will 
have moved a step nearer to the Perfect Life, and 
your soul will vibrate with a something which only 
a few men have known. 

Work on, never falter, there is work to be done; 
Clear the path of all ignorance under the sun ! 
Teach earth children to know the Divine is iheir 

own — 
An inheritance given, for which none need atone. 

7 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

Teach all to reach out for progression's old ship: 

Get aboard, spread contentment and peace on your 
trip; 

And tell to all nations — shout it loud and pro- 
claim — 

That knowledge is power and will drown igno- 
rance 's flame. 

THE TKUTH 

'Tis as true as the great universal law: 

What ye sow ye also shall reap ; 
For the loom of life weaves on and on, 

Whether you wake or sleep. 

It is shown in the sowings of your race, 

With its deadly poisonous sting, 
That he who makes his brother weep, 

Grief to himself shall bring. 

If you laugh at some poor victim's cries, 
And harden your heart at the sound, 

Surely a Nemesis' dread shall rise, 
Out of a void profound. 

Whoever shall sow in selfishness and hate, 
Is only sowing for years that wait ; 

For the slow, relentless Wheel of Fate 
Is ever turning 'round. 

So give to your brother a loving thought, 
And a helping hand in life's fray, 

And yours shall be the glory 
In some great future day. 

8 



IMMORTALITY 

Your life will be bright to the finish, 
When you Ve proven that you are true ; 

For the standard of right is infinite, 
And 'twill all return to you. 

THE IMMOETALITY OF THE SOUL 

The soul is immortal because it possesses uni- 
versal, necessary, and absolute ideas which tran- 
scend all emotional conditions and bespeak an 
origin unmeasurable above the body. No modifi- 
cations of matter, however refined, however elabo- 
rated, can give the absolute, the necessary, the 
Eternal. 

The soul has an independent power of self 
motion, self activity, self determination. Now 
that which cannot move itself, but derives its 
motion from something else, may cease to move 
and at last perish. But that which is self moved 
never ceases to live and is always active. That 
which is the cause of motion cannot be extin- 
guished by the change called death. 



Theoughout the whole world, 
The great God in all is working 

To bring about His will, 
As the sun shines on the rich and poor, 

All treading through His mill. 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

SET FOK ME A CHAIE 

I do not care for palaces in which to live and die, 
I'm willing to wait for my mansion in th' ethereal 

sky; 
I do not want a parson to eulogize my bier, 
I'd rather have kind treatment while on my jour- 
ney here. 

I do not want a marble grand to mark my resting 

place, 
Cremation's good enough for me; throw th' ashes 

into space. 

I do not want some one who says he loves me ' ' Oh ! 
so true," 

To bring sweet flowers — when I lay cold — all drip- 
ping with the dew ; 

I want them while I lie and wait for th' angel 

friends to come ; 
I want to smell their sweet perfume; they'll help 

to send me on. 

I do not want my friends to cry because they 

think I'm dead; 
Instead I want a party grand, a royal feast that 's 

spread 
For all my friends who loved me; and I'll return 

and wait 
Until I'm seated at the head; a guest I'll be in 

state. 

10 



TRUTHS DIVINELY PURE 

You may not see my earthly form, but I shall sure 

be there : 
In spirit and in love I'll come, so set for me a 

chair. 
I'll bring you blessings from a land where love 

and beauty grand 
Will walk beside you in your home, and I will 

hold your hand, 
And teach you truths divinely pure; teachings 

that shall fore'er endure, 
Until th' enlightened have full sway — a truth that 

stands for aye and aye. 
So let me live and let me go, a natural product of 

life's woe, 
Until my soul is lost in love in that bright Spirit 

Home above. 



11 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

FAILURES 

No man deserves to be crowned with honor 
whose life has been a failure; he who lives to 
eat and accumulate money only, is a failure. The 
world is no better because he has lived in it; he 
never wiped a tear from a sad face; never kin- 
dled a fire on a frozen hearth. His friends are 
few; his life barren and cold; as he lives so shall 
he die ; no tears, no regrets — simply he has passed 
on. No one inquires who he is; no one cares. 
Oh, God! teach us to do good, and to be good, 
and to help others so that they may plant a flower 
on our grave and stop at least long enough to 
read the inscription carved on our monuments. 



A MEDITATION 

Draw near us this morning, Spirit of Divine 
Love. Strengthen us according to the need of the 
day. Give us true thoughts and a right under- 
standing of Thee and Thy ways, for in all things 
we know Thy great Spirit will give strength and 
endurance. Guide us in all our actions, and we 
will lift our voices to Thee in thanksgiving. 



12 



ETEKNAL INVESTMENTS 

MANHOOD 

The finest type of manhood is never over- 
whelmed or entirely dismayed, no matter what 
comes. A man of this type may see his property 
swept away from him, his hopes blasted, his am- 
bitions thwarted, and his plans demolished, bnt 
his spirit remains undaunted; his courage, his 
trust, his self-confidence are undiminished. His 
success is beyond the reach of mere accident. The 
foundation of his success is laid on the rocks of 
eternal truth, of justice, of probity, of right think- 
ing and square dealing. No floods, no devasta- 
tions, can reach him. They do not touch the real 
man, for his investments are in himself. It is 
only the more shallow-minded men, without re- 
serve of character, without other resources than 
money or property, that go down in financial fail- 
ure. The man who has learned to live in himself 
and not in his property, who puts not his trust in 
riches but in principle, does not part with his 
greatest possession when he loses his money. 



13 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

THE TWIN MURDERERS 

In past ages Ignorance and Superstition have 
been the twin murderers that have seized the dag- 
gers of hatred and persecution to assassinate the 
soul of every thinker and reformer who had the 
courage of his convictions and dared to speak out 
and tell what he thought to be the truth. 

But a new era has dawned when thinking men 
and women are coming to the front, and irrespec- 
tive of what others may say or think, have the 
courage to tell to the world their ideas, and what 
has been revealed to them through their own di- 
vine intellect, or through some source of spirit 
power. 

If you have the desire, the means, and the op- 
portunity, then it is your own fault if you still 
continue to go down the hill of ignorance, while 
on the other hand the hill of knowledge is waiting 
for you to climb to its highest point and there 
proclaim the new thoughts revealed to you. 



U 



PAINTED IMAGINATIONS 

AS IT KEALLY IS 

True religion is needed in every heart. But 
the only power in the church that is worthy of the 
name is Spiritual Power — the power that comes 
of being Eight. The church has waxed; religion 
in the church has waned. Quantity has been at- 
tained, but quality lost. Furthermore, what is the 
church doing to better the quality? Let me tell 
you — just little or nothing! On the contrary, the 
church puts the stamp of her approval on such 
religious acrobatics and calls it Christianity. She 
too often shares in the profits of the sinner, and 
then demands that the pulpit keep "mum" about 
the sin. 

She muzzles the preachers and then puts her- 
self in bondage to ungodly men of wealth, and 
plays into their hands the tremendous power of 
ecclesiastical machinery. Thus the functionaries 
that were created to conserve the purity of the 
church are turned over to those who use them for 
the opposite effect. 

So the church is but a painted ship upon a 
painted ocean, freighted with no cargo and bound 
for no port. 

Spiritual power is an impossibility in the church 
that has set its heart upon that worldly equipage 
and favor, in order to obtain which, it must grovel 
before wrong, clad in rich livery, and kiss the feet 
of the golden calf. 

Such religion is not worth ten cents on the dol- 

15 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

lar. What is the effect? Eead your answer in 
the empty pews of the average church. The peo- 
ple are not all fools. They do not want chaff, 
they want pure grain and full measure — and some- 
thing for their money. 

EKEE THOUGHT 

Fkee thought has been : 

The soother of sorrows, destroyer of strife, 
The soul's best physician, relieving all pain; 
It curses no one who has doubts of his creed, 
It hunts up no martyrs to burn or to bleed. 
It tells of no devil with tortures and chains, 
No hell of unending and horrible pains. 
It seeks not to bless men by force or by fear, 
But draws them by love to a God ever near. 
This world it makes happy, then, high beyond 

this, 
It points to another, all sunny with bliss. 
Bright haven of rest ! How fair are thy skies ! 
Thou home of the Good! Thou school of the 

Wise! 

SEAKCH FOE LIGHT 

It is better, in my opinion, in searching for 
truth, to go astray and wander for a while in the 
labyrinths of obscure doctrines than to stand ever 
still tied to your infantile faiths. Your search for 
truth will sooner or later lead you into the broad 
roads of divine wisdom, and every one of the 

16 



EXIT —INFANTILE FAITHS 

narrow beliefs that you have passed through has 
been a benefit. Search diligently for light, and 
by and by your soul will be illuminated with the 
light of wisdom and reason; for the mind is a 
mighty storehouse, incomparably beyond any ex- 
ternal source of knowledge. If you will allow it to 
think for itself, it will develop the mighty forces 
of life. 

THE WOELD MOVES ON 

In this age of progress it is not well to butt 
your head against the wall of evolution ; for great 
scientific minds are struggling to find new meth- 
ods whereby the world may become enlightened, 
and these are fast being recognized by mankind. 
Nearly every person has some dear one who has 
passed over the road that leads to the life beyond, 
and when they return they are weighed down with 
the words of knowledge and wisdom, which they 
are scattering over God's great garden. So the 
narrow minds will have to become busy and go to 
school in God's great schoolhouse, where all may 
learn from those who have seen and understand 
the wonderful laws of life here and hereafter. 

THE UNANSWEKED 

Into the great expanse of Nature, filled with 
numberless atoms which go to make up the won- 
derful life forces and increase the value of power 
and motion, the great mind tries to grasp the un- 
seen law which governs all. But man never has 

17 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

been able to solve the great problem of why every 
atom fills its own little niche; why the why and 
wherefore is always rightly placed; and neither 
could they fully understand the universal method 
of everything being in its proper place until they 
have tried to change its course and failed effectu- 
ally every time. 

So we will move with this great Whole, being 
one of the little particles which is essential to help 
it along. When our usefulness is finished we will 
pass on to give place to a new mind, perhaps filled 
with more progressive thoughts, and so the world 
will be educated ; everything in its right place. 

And no matter if man had never been created, 
the same stars would shine; the old ocean would 
dash upon the beach; the great electrical forces 
illuminate the heavens, and the etheric stresses 
build life energies. All would go on; Nature is an 
endless chain of progress, never resting, always 
active — a lesson of value to those who stop to 
think it out. 

GIVE US THE NEW 

Let the old die out. We do not need them and 
their baby reforms. It is the new man and the 
new woman, who have been educated by the high- 
er forces to be a help and a benediction to man- 
kind, that are needed. 

A natural reformer is one who will act because 
it is Eight to do right ; not because it pleases some 
one else to have him do so. 

18 



FEAR IS IGNORANCE 

WHAT IS FEAR? 

Feak is the first tyrant you must get rid of. 
Fear represents the material out of which is made 
every link in the chain which holds you down in 
life. Mistrust, hatred, jealousy — these things 
spring from fear, and all disaster is caused from 
one of these false emotions. Fear is ignorance. It 
can be conquered only by those who dare. Free- 
dom of thought precedes every manifestation of 
strength, but many are still in the chains of fear. 
Freedom is harmony, and when you enter the 
higher plane of consciousness, this law will be the 
foundation for all to behold and understand. For 
it will bring to all health, prosperity and peace. 

Feak is the definition of Failure. 

Courage is the definition of Strength. 

Strength is the definition of Success. 

Fear and you will fail. 

Courage and you can move earths. 

Strength and you can subdue nations. 

Fear begets failure. 

Think you are weak and your strength will 
fade away. 

Think you are strong and there will be no ob- 
stacle that you cannot surmount. 

Strength, Courage, Valor, Success, all are thine 
inheritance. 



19 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

WILL YOU TELL ME? 

"Will you tell me, my ministering angels, 
How best to make use of this day, 

That it leave on my heart, or some other, 
An impress for good that will stay? 

Will you show me how best to examine 
My own faulty life by your light, 

And help me, by conquering selfhood, 
To be able to counsel aright ? 

So make known, if you can, by your power, 
Some way, by a word, or a song, 

To lift up some poor erring mortal, 
And help him to keep from the wrong. 

Show me some way I may open 
The soul's windows, so there may be 

A bright ray of sunlight in every heart, 
And the bright side of life all may see. 



20 



USE YOUR UMBRELLA! 

CONTENTMENT 

Contentment is not an outward growth. Its 
roots spring from the very depths of the soul and 
are nourished by rain as well as by sunshine, by 
sorrow as well as by joy. When once one has re- 
solved within himself to take life as it is, and 
make the best of it, then one may, even in tribula- 
tion, take comfort. The delights of life, like 
pleasant weather, are scattered through the year, 
all along your way, and unless one enjoys them 
as soon as they come, the opportunity, once passed, 
never returns. 

Do not get drenched in a pouring rain for the 
sake of saving your umbrella for some possible 
future storm. Do not live in the future, but in 
the present. You live in poverty that you may 
die in wealth; for what! You complain of the 
clouds and storm, but do you rejoice in the clear 
sky and sunshine? 

Be therefore glad ! let not future things disturb 
thee, for thou shalt come to them. Sleep ! for the 
loom of life never stops, and the pattern which is 
being woven when the sun goes down, is weaving 
when it comes up to-morrow. 



21 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

THE BEAUTIFUL ELOWEK, LOVE 

The most beautiful flower that blossoms in 
Heaven or earth has its name written on the fore- 
head of all who wear it, and its name is Love. 
Love is the first divine principle which governs 
and rules the world. It is the purest gem that a 
mother wears. It is the father's beacon-light 
when he comes home. It is the child's watch- 
word. It is the friend's passport. It is the es- 
sence of all that is good and all that is Godlike; 
all that is kind; all that you live for; all that we 
enjoy in other climes. Love is the balance-wheel 
of life. It is the mainspring of our hopes, aspira- 
tions and desires. So let us seek its shelter, its 
protection, and be true. 



Fill the cup of thy being, my friend, with 
the sweet waters of Eternal Truth, and glorify 
thyself by quenching the thirst of all who come to 
thee seeking aid. 

If you wish to have a beautiful character and 
be beautiful in the eyes of the world, sow seeds 
of kindness wherever you go. Smile and say a 
sweet good-morning, and your face will beam with 
a beauty that no artist can paint. 



22 



DEVELOP THE OTHER SENSE 

ALL THINGS ESSENTIAL 

If you were wise you would believe in all re- 
ligions as essential factors in this world's prog- 
ress. In all men, good and bad, ignorant and 
learned, weak and strong, you would recognize 
the night as well as the day as essentials. Who 
are your brothers? Who are your sisters! All 
men and all women; the birds, the flowers, the 
streams, the winds that blow, all are necessary; 
without them you could not live in the material 
body. The earth sends out its magnetic influence 
and the air vibrates like eolian harps with the 
universal love of the spirits who inhabit the other 
room. Beautiful thought; one so near the other 
that if the other sense were developed, we could 
reach out and clasp the hand of our loved one. 

All things are essential to life. Let none say 
anything is lost. 



Theee are numberless things you may do at 
trifling cost which would sweeten the atmosphere 
in which you live, and you could so throw out an 
aura of light and love that many poor hungry 
souls would find shelter beneath your wings. Be 
glad to be good and to do good, because a life of 
effort for man has its remembrance in Heaven. 



23 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

ATTUNE WITH THE SOUL ! 

Akt thou confused? Can your baffled eyes pene- 
trate no farther? Then how is the true Seer to 
be appreciated! 

The vast ocean of materials in ceaseless motion 
and activity are ever bringing their different in- 
fluences to bear on your cloudy minds. And all 
are simply atoms of the Great Whole making up 
one of these active bodies which emanates thought 
force. The thought finds no resting place. It feels 
the material form and is conscious of its habita- 
tion. It meditates definitely only upon objects 
that are suitable for its comprehension and asso- 
ciations. It searches throughout the chambers 
of the Heaven of Heavens and roams through the 
labyrinths that are continually opening' up their 
rooms for the mind's inspection; then it retiras 
from its journeyings and asks when was the be- 
ginning and when will be the end. So let me say 
to thee: 
You look through a glass that is never quite clear, 

In your world of thought in hopes of some light ; 
But your vision is cloudy, you cannot see far, 

And you stop overwhelmed, for your day is as 
night. 
If you could know that animated Nature 

Was a harp set in a frame of pure gold, 
That trembled into thought each tone of creation — 

It's the God in All — attune with the soul! 

24 



KEEP THINKING 

THE UNTHINKABLE 

I said I would write about the unthinkable ; what 
does it mean? This: The present intellectual 
development is beyond your grasp. Once it was 
unthinkable that solid bodies could pass through 
solid bodies without leaving a hole. It may be 
unthinkable to the majority of scientists now, but 
facts have multiplied under scientific scrutiny until 
many are convinced that it is not only thinkable, 
but demonstrable. 

" There never was a time when matter did not 
exist" may look plausible to your mental or in- 
tellectual grasp, but is it axiomatic? Can you 
predict a syllogism on it as you can upon a mathe- 
matical axiom ? Can you know that ' ' there never 
was a time" when intelligence did not exist and 
direct force in its constructive energy? Such an 
assertion concedes that the operations of con- 
structive energy never began. If not, then why 
the continuous play of this constructive energy 
in accordance with eternal principles and order 
of action and reaction always tending in the same 
direction which " never began," and therefore 
needed no intelligence to begin it ? And this order 
involving every process of evolution, can actively 
satisfy every demand for which a God is held re- 
sponsible. 

In other words, if the cosmic processes now 
operative in which polarity and co-relation with 
all the tendencies of attraction and repulsion, and 

25 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

the molecular rhythm and chemistry of life to 
intelligent uses, what reason is there to think that 
any other cause is or ever was necessary to the 
economy of Nature? 

people's idols 
" Gods' ' are men's creations. Infinite intelli- 
gence is abstruse. Let us deal only with things 
knowable. Substitute "Divine" for "Infinite" 
intelligence. What do we know or understand of 
the Infinite? I can conceive of no intelligence 
which was not developed through the process of 
Nature. The dead and decaying theologies are 
repulsive to those who are quickened by the ad- 
vanced thought, and are reaching after higher 
truths. Leave the question of new titles and 
names of the Supreme Power to those who have 
not outgrown the need of old theologies. 



Why should you bow at any shrine! You are 
your own individual beings owning yourselves, 
as that is your inheritance. If you shed light over 
all the dark places on your pathway, and let every 
man live out his best thoughts and endeavors, then 
you shall have put one diamond in your crown for 
the eternal round-up. 



Our greatest efforts are often blocked by ig- 
norance and superstition. 

26 . 



SIN AND THE SINNER 

TKY TO UNDERSTAND 

There is so much good that you all could do, 

If you only knew where to begin. 
You could learn to forgive the sinner, 

And forget about the sin. 

You could soon teach your heart to be tender 
Toward the poor erring ones on life's way, 

And by putting your arms about them, 
Show them life is worth living to-day. 

There are so many flowers in life's garden, 

That you could help if you would ; 
But they perish and die in your pathway, 

Because they are not understood. 

Too often you censure and kill them 
By some unkind word you have said, 

When a kind, loving word or a tender caress, 
Might have made them grow stronger instead. 

And into God's beautiful Garden, 
Transplanted some day you may find, 

This flower you crushed by some thoughtless word, 
And you'll wish you had been more kind. 



27 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

DO SOMETHING 

Seek ye first the kingdom of God 

By doing something, aye, something good; 

And all things shall be added to you, 

Bringing forth the soul so true. 

Test it in your business, all ye learned men, 

By being just and honest, and doing all the good 

you can. 
Not a so-called Christian, who yearns for honors 

great, 
But one of Love's own Christians, 
Who works for God and state. 
Is there honesty or justice 
In slandering your neighbor ? 
Is a man a Christian in his heart, 
Who stands 'twixt capital and labor? 
Is it right for one to live on husks, 
While others live on wheat ? 
Is it just the thing for some to say: 
"You take the bone, I want the meat"? 
Is this a building of the good, 
That God has given free? 
Should one possess the entire earth, 
Which belongs equally to you and me? 
Arise, ye sleepers, and go forth, 
And do your duty well ; 
Break down this selfish tyranny — 
Build up progression's spell. 
Let your minds be ever active, 
And bring about some thought, 

28 



COLD FACTS 

Which will sink deep into many hearts, 

And bring best efforts out ; 

And then we sure will have the right 

To say the Kingdom bright 

Of Heaven is within us. 

There will be no tyrant's might — 

But Love and Harmony shall be 

A watchword for Equality. 

And no man's land shall be so grand, 

But what he'll take his neighbor's hand, 

And say: " Let's work in unison." 

Then God will say our work's well done. 

THE DIFFEKENCE 

Eich men meet in the bank or in the club-house 
or parlor. Workingmen meet on the streets to 
confer together. All the organized forces are 
against them. Capital has the army and navy, 
the legislative, executive and judicial departments 
to fulfil its bidding. 

When the rich combine it is for an "exchange 
of ideas." When the poor combine it is "con- 
spiracy." If they act in concert and really do 
something, it is a "mob." If they dare to defend 
themselves, it is called "treason." 



Feeedom is not the right to do as you please, 
but the liberty to do as you ought to. 



29 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

WHAT IS THE CKEATOK ? 

The Creator has ceased to be a sort of an ec- 
clesiastical mechanic outside of the world and of 
man. Evolution is everywhere taking its place. 
Still, the most lasting basis of belief in a God is 
to be found in the human spirit itself. 

The revolt of science against religion and its 
assumptions is but the revolt of common sense 
and common humanity. Science does not revolt 
against religion, but against the ecclesiastical ter- 
rorism which is taught by the clergy and covered 
with orthodoxical robes. 

The natural laws which govern all things can- 
not be nullified; they are facts without figures; 
they show for themselves the great GOD in all. 
Not in one, but in every flower that grows ; every 
song that we hear ; every laugh of the child ; every 
cloud in the sky; every ripple of the brook as it 
flows on to old ocean ; each bearing out the expres- 
sion of a God in all. Each teaching its own lesson 
of a true development of some inner life which' 
belongs to the grand universal evolution of man. 

The real essential you is within you, and as you 
learn this fact you feel a desire to live with one in 
the inner man. The nobler in all respects is all 
drawn out of the physical and the actual visible 
world, and is in communion with and in perpetual 
life with GOD. 

You take refuge in it from the rude happenings 
of the outer life. The flesh is an outward mask 

30 



MEMORIES OF THE PAST 

to hide behind. What you cannot see is far more 
valuable than what you can see. 

No man is so poor as he who has only one coat- 
ing to his nature. 



The only grave we know is an unmarked one 
away over on the hillside of memory, where lies 
buried many a fond hope, and many a sweet dream 
of bygone years and days. The place where confi- 
dence was withered by the chilling blasts of cold 
neglect and indifference lies among the faded flow- 
ers ; and yet, from this grave there must be a resur- 
rection, for in this Higher Life all broken threads 
are taken up, and the messengers of thoughts 
will come home at last. So strive for pure 
thoughts and lofty aspirations, for thought once 
breathed upon the air will vibrate to eternity. 
Let your spiritual growth exceed your years, that 
you may sooner reach that perfect day. 



' ' How can you help others to be better ? ' ' You 
can help them by being good yourself, and bending 
your head and letting all the little trifles pass 
over you. Do not see them; do not notice them; 
do not hear the unkind words; only listen to the 
good ones. Seek for true love alone. True love 
is Godism. 

31 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

INFINITE LOYE 

There 's something in Nature we cannot explain; 
There's something in Nature that's kindred to 

flame; 
There's something in Nature that never can fall, 
There's something in Nature belongs to us all. 
It is called Infinite Love. 

Its power is infinite all will confess, 
It reaches our hearts and our souls — nothing less ; 
It holds us in chains that no mortal can sever, 
It yields to no death, but lives on forever, 
This Infinite Love. 

With love at the helm there must come a time, 
When all shall be free, in some far-away clime; 
No sorrow or poverty ; all shall be free 
To have and to hold their allotment, you see, 
All through Infinite Love. 

Through pathways of pain your feet often press, 
Still on to your loved ones, nevertheless, 
Your soul will reach out in quiet and peace, 
And you'll dwell with them there where sorrow 
shall cease. 
Yes, in Infinite Love. 



Teak-drops are like balm to the weary heart. 
Sunlight and smiles go arm in arm. 

32 



THE KEY TO SUCCESS 

AMBITION 

The world is one endless opportunity. Noth- 
ing stands between man and his ambition but him- 
self. The resources of Nature are revealed to the 
individual only as he discovers the resources with- 
in himself. Ambition lies in the individual and 
not in circumstance. 

Man builds his environments about him out of 
his own substance, just as the spider spins his 
web or as the nautilus finds its shell of pearl. The 
limitations and restraints that the individual be- 
lieves to be imposed upon him from without by 
the government or by society are in reality but the 
limitations of ambition within himself, which he 
has not overcome. 

It is impossible for man to be enslaved by any 
other than himself. Every man, woman and child 
has some ambition upon which they build their 
hope for the future. It marks the awakening of 
man. From the machine which the tendency of 
our modern progress has gone to produce there 
comes the promise of man. 

Instead of despondency and gloom, there is 
cause for the loftiest cheer. Why! Look at the 
word "Ambition," and read your answer. No 
hardship, no suffering, no calamity, are of great 
moment to the ambitious. They have their own 
destinies to live out, and unto all men has been 
given their store of ambition according to their 
brain power to use it. Man is the creator of his 

33 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

own destiny. What lie is — he has made himself. 
The conditions that environ him are of his own 
creation. 

Things move according to law — not by hick. If 
yonr lives are barren — it is yon who make them 
so. Therefore, stimulate ambition and it will 
grow and the world will become better. Men will 
be wiser. There will be something to live for. 
There will be no greed. Ambition will be the pass- 
word which will nnlock the doors of progression, 
and the world will understand that there is no 
place on earth for a man who deems his work 
done — no place for any who have bnried their am- 
bition. 

FUTUKE CITIES 

The future cities will be bnilt on the hills, 
And the grind of humanity now in the mills, 
Will breathe God's own sunlight and bask in its 

rays; 
It will be their salvation, and last — yes, for aye. 

No more weary faces, for God gave it free, 
The power that shall benefit — yes, you and me ; 
And all of the poor, all of the oppressed, 
May come to this fountain and there will find rest. 

But you ask : what will bring about such a change ? 
Just look in the faces of the youths — now estrange 
From the old fogy ideas ; from monopolies ' greed ; 
I think in their actions you can read the new creed. 

34 



EVOLUTION 

Equal rights for all ; let old ideas decay — 

You will build the new cities which shall last 

alway ; 
They'll be the home of the poor as well as the rich, 
And governed so well none will fall in the ditch. 

New schools, new religions, new thoughts, new 

prayers, 
To do to your neighbor with a thought of pure 

care 
The thing that you would to you should be done, 
And then all will be harmony under the sun. 

New thoughts to the little minds now growing 

free ; 
Let them be liberal and teach all to see 
The need of all social rights put in their way. 
Make good use of your knowledge, begin right 

away. 

Some minds need your help; teach evolution so 

grand ; 
Then free thought and power shall walk hand in 

hand, 
And the cities you build will be monuments tall, 
To show to the world you have cast in your all. 



35 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

LOOK FOR THE HIGHEST 

The religions ideas and customs of the dead 
past are fast being buried. They have ruled the 
world long enough. Knowledge is advancing in 
every land. The new Jerusalem of old, with 
golden streets, lordly mansions and abject angels, 
governed by a despot whose greatest pleasure 
seems to have been to listen to the adulation of his 
serfs whose endless chorus of Glory, Glory, Glory, 
has vanished like the air castles of imagination 
built in moments of frenzy. The religion, an out- 
growth of that narrow conception of the material 
and celestial worlds over which a repentant God 
presided, and the priests who minister at His 
altars, should join the bats in an old Gothic cathe- 
dral, while worshiper and worshiped should unite 
in a grand procession, and make a tour of obser- 
vation, and note the change time has wrought. 
"We now have thinking men and women who em- 
blazon the whole world with their eloquence ; they 
stir up a fire in every soul that has lain dormant, 
and needs only the torch of intelligence to give it 
the impetus that it needs to warm and nourish 
into life true Christianity. 

Let each man and woman look for the highest; 
that which will tend to the upliftment of the 
human family. Then and not until then shall they 
be doing that which was given them to do. Thanks 
to the Higher intelligences and to the expanding 
knowledge; for all these go to show that despots, 

36 



LIVE NEAR TO GOD 

dogmas and priests, with their tyranny, are fast 
hastening to an end. 

With the downfall of superstition, humanity 
will rise. Then farewell to creeds; and with the 
destruction of creeds will come peace, harmony 
and true Christian purposes — every man living 
nearer to God for being left alone to follow out 
his own natural instincts, which are God-like ; and' 
if the brain is taught aright and each theory sus- 
tained by logic, then these teachings will accom- 
pany him through life and bloom in fruition when 
mortality is laid aside and the disenthralled spirit 
is permitted to revel in the midst of perfect being. 



FEOM ANOTHEE WOELD 

I'm a child of the sun, and stars as well, 
In other planets I often dwell ; 
But to this plane I sometimes come, 
To visit my other children's home. 
I find that all who seek for right, 
I can guide by spirit sight. 
I can come from other realms 
And help to sing progression's song. 
I can see why many fail, 
Because they live to no avail. 
But soon the time will be so near, 
That star and sun will be right here; 
And you shall see as now I see, 
37 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

And hear as I now hear, 

And speak in many different tongues 

To bring about good cheer. 

While I shall jonrney on 

To other worlds and other scenes, 

And still help yon along. 



Be not discouraged — be brave, kind and true. 
Give to the world thy benediction and send out a 
blessing and thou shalt be blessed. 



Theee are voices you cannot hear, 
There are forms you cannot see ; 

Our world has numberless doors, 
But you do not hold the key. 



If you live aright, no death can be sudden, no 
spot unfavorable for the going forth from the 
here to the hereafter. One step — all roads meet 
at the grand central station of soul home. 

Beat on then, oh, heart, and yearn for the dying, 

Which surely must come to all very soon; 

For death is as sweet as the flowers that are 

blooming, 
And we long to inhabit the soul's Inner Boom. 



Love much and let your soul beam forth 
The grandeur of Eternal bliss. 

'Twill help the poor heart-broken one, 
,To leave all wrong and seek for this 

38 



EAGS, PAPER AND POVERTY 

Divinity which God has scattered full and free. 

You only have to live aright, 
And it surely will be given thee. 

MENTAL DEFORMITIES 

There are many honest persons so mentally 
constructed that they can hear the groans of the 
doomed in Hades, but not the welcome tones of 
gladness with which the departing spirit is greeted 
in the realm of bliss above by those who have gone 
before. They cannot help it. This is a mental 
deformity and they should be taken to God's great 
hospital for treatment, whereby some great mind 
could come in contact with, and work upon, the 
finer inner nature until it could see the angels 
sitting in the silver lining of the beautiful sunset 
clouds, playing a greeting song of welcome to ALL 
who pass on to the morning land. 

PAPER 

Paper makes lots of money, 

Money makes lots of banks ; 
Banks make lots of poverty, 

Whenever they play their pranks. 
Poverty makes lots of rags — 

Again rags make the paper ; 
Paper makes money for the banks, 

And the cashier cuts the caper. 

The world needs men of character, not men of 
society. 

39 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

FKOM SISTEK GEACE TO BKOTHEK WILL 

Yes, I know that you have treasured 

All the things I used to wear ; 
My gloves and all my pictures 

Are held sacred by you, dear. 
And I sometimes long to kiss you, 

When you your vigils keep, 
And I often do caress you, 

When you're lying fast asleep. 
You are faithful to me always, 

To your darling little Grace, 
And I know there is no other, 

Who holds in your heart the place 
That I held, and still am holding ; 

For your love is just the same, 
And I'm always Grace to you, Will, 

Though I cannot bring you fame. 
But I can, and I will guide you, 

And I'll help to make you feel 
All divine unending power, 

Which will o'er your spirit steal; 
And I'll always bring you flowers, 

Though you may not see them, dear, 
Still I know that they will help you, 

And your room will have more cheer ; 
And I'll come and guard your slumbers- 
Yes, I'll silent vigil keep, 
And my spirit arms protect you — 

Ever keep you while you sleep. 

40 



NO MISTAKES 

Good-by, brother, I must go now, 
Back to realms so pure and bright. 

I will help you build a mansion 
Over here where there's no night. 

THE SOUL SEEKS ITS OWN LEVEL 

The mass of ignorance is fast leveling down. 
The narrow othodoxy of the past is finishing its 
part, and with its primitive creeds and beliefs, 
is fast passing into obsoletism, leaving human 
intelligence to compass at liberty and the brighter 
and nobler purposes of God. 

Men do as they please. God never sent a man 
to hell. If a man aspires to the beautiful home, 
Heaven, he can reach that goal. On the other 
hand, if he is determined to go to hell, he will find 
that condition. Both exist. There is a lot of 
moral sympathy in the universe that is as real, 
as universal, as resistless as the law of physical 
gravitation. Every man goes to his own place, re- 
gardless of all creeds and dogmas. 



All things in Nature are right; there are no 
mistakes — the mistakes are man-made. Do not 
condemn then, the beautiful, for, as seen by your 
eyes they may not seem as God made the All to 
be seen. Educate your inner vision ; then look out 
on the wide expanse and see aright. All is beauty; 
All is Eight; All is powerful; All Godlike. 

41 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

A SPIEIT PKOPHECY 

There are more unexpressed things in heaven 
and earth than are dreamed of by any philosophy. 
Yea, and even greater progress shall the world 
make in the years to come. There will be wars 
between capital and labor; there will be a down- 
fall of monopolies and an uprising of Universal 
Brotherhood and equality for all mankind. There 
will be earthquakes and floods, pestilence and 
famine, devastations innumerable. There will be 
religious wars; there will be new thoughts, new 
inventions, new powers, new possessions and new 
beliefs. Instruments will be constructed which 
will be so sensitive that an intercommunion of the 
angel and terrestrial worlds can be effected. The 
angel world will be heard to speak as your voices 
are now heard on the graphophone. This inter- 
communion of the two worlds will prove that there 
is no death. Theologians tell you the days of 
miracles are over; so they are indeed; there 
never was a miracle, nor is there now. Look at 
how the minds have progressed, but all in accord 
with the Natural laws which govern them. The 
telegraph, the telephone, the wireless telegraph, 
the automobiles, the phonograph, the steamships ; 
all these marvelous things exist to-day; but in- 
finitely greater inventions are fast coming. Minds 
will evolute on; the child will be master of man. 
With a fast growing knowledge of our responsi- 
bilities and possibilities, the mental atmosphere 

42 



A MOTHER'S LOVE 

of man will be cleared of its dense ignorance. 
There will come a full understanding of all that 
is beautiful and goes to make life a vast wilder- 
ness of roses and sweet content. Yea, and I say 
unto you that all these things shall come to pass. 

a mother's love 

A mother's love is like a benediction after the 
psalm is sung, and after the last thought dies away 
in sleep. Sleep, so pure and deep, which brings 
you nearer to the world where all is love and 
beauty. 

There are no faults that a mother will not for- 
give; no words so hard and unkind but what a 
sympathetic ear is turned ever to the one utter- 
ing them. A mother 's love is a divine inspiration 
always. She understands all — knows all — is lov- 
ing when all the world frowns upon her loved one. 
Such love is a light which is God-given. No one 
can gainsay that our mothers are not all queens, 
and shall be nearer the state of perfection where 
the God dwells in this Spirit Home. If nothing 
else her love would bring her here and she would 
wear a crown and be one of God's chosen angels. 



There never was a mind on earth but what could 
have its grander themes written upon the Eternal 
books of Love, 

43 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

All seeds sown by the pure-minded will grow, 
and in some other clime go forth to gladden some 
sad heart. 

Unto all who love right, God 's laws are like dew 
to the flowers. No heart is so black but what some 
ray of light may penetrate its secret chamber and 
under the right condition bring forth the bright- 
est rays of truth and purity which make the world 
better. 

Discovee the bent of thine inner nature and give 
it judicious freedom, that it may unfold perfectly. 
The precept, "Man, know thyself," must never 
be forgotten, although this is a lesson which is 
perhaps never fully learned while temporal life 
lasts. For, ever shifting experiences constantly 
appeal to some new phase of the complex nature 
of man and startle into expression some unex- 
pected burst of power, or perhaps a pitiful weak- 
ness which surprises none more than its possessor. 



Into each heart some rain must fall to help the 
rose of character to blossom and give forth to the 
world the sweet perfume which has grown out of 
sadness, to show the divine purpose of the Eternal 
Plan. 

Nothing can be attained by despondency; all is 
gained by sunshine. 

44 



TRUTHS 



LOVE AND KINDNESS 



If there's any one thing in earth life, 

That hearts together will bind, 
It's the flower that grows in your being; 

It 's the love that makes yon kind. 

Yon can love as yon wish to be loved, 
Pure, simple as the dawn of day; 

You can be kind, and loving, and tender, 
And your friends will come and stay. 

Give the milk of human kindness 

To some hungry soul to-night ; 
It will spur him on to nobler things, 

It will help him to do right. 

And by and by when you go Home, 

Where all things will be clear, 
The kind deeds you have done on earth, 

"Will bring you all good cheer. 

Love will conquer sin, subdue all ill, illumine 
the world with light everlasting, universal. Every- 
thing good and pure has its foundation in love. 



45 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

TAKE A LESSON EKOM NATUKE 

Look forth into the great expanse and note what 
Nature has to offer thee. Canst thon offer her the 
same in return? Yea, even more! Lift up thy 
highest thoughts — let them vibrate until the poor 
hungry souls in the earth's remotest spot shall 
catch the vibrations and be made better for the 
grand opportunity of soul union. Be firm; be 
kind. This beautiful morning is like the benedic- 
tion after the last hymn is sung and the last prayer 
is said. It will bring to thee the same amount of 
blessings as thou shalt give forth to the world. 

Go fobth, wonderful light, and may thy rays 
so permeate the universal love, that all may see 
and learn of thee. 

Do not fear, though day may follow day, 

When darkling clouds their silver linings hide ; 

We know the sunshine yet will come your way; 

No sky remains forever bleak and gray — 
God will provide. 



Aggkession is the mainspring of progression. 
If there were no friction there could be no light, 
no heat, no cold, no debates, no spurring on to 
higher and nobler things, no incentive to do any 
one thing better than your neighbor. 

Therefore be aggressive; learn to live for your- 
self and in thine own strength help others. 

46 



MANNA 

Love much. It will help you, dear heart, 

It will help you to expand ; 
And soul power shall be felt by all 

From the beautiful morning land. 



If any one can doubt a natural God, let him go 
forth into the world and look out on the great 
in all. 

You can live in a bandbox and never know that 
there is any other place ; or you can broaden out 
and live in God's Garden and pick the sweetest 
flowers that bud and grow. Let us live with the 
Divine in all, and we will be divinity itself. 

Unto thee shall be brought food. Yea, even as 
the birds of the air live, so shall ye live. Learn 
to look toward the sun. Learn the lesson of the 
stars — constancy. Be happy as the brook that 
goes babbling on its happy way, and lend a hand 
to all the needy poor who are reaching up for 
light and gladness. 



Souls require no introduction; the recognition 
is intuitive. 



You know not of what you are capable until 
trials come. Until they come in a form that makes 
the strong man quail and turns the gentler woman 
into a heroine. 

47 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

Heaet-theobs are like the echoes of the wind. 
They soon pass, and peace, divine and holy, fills 
their place. 



If yon would have the respect of all — respect 
yourself and bnild a temple within yonr own 
being so spotless that no wrong can live and thrive 
within its gates. 



New thoughts, new possibilities, are at thy com- 
mand. Be not despondent because thou canst not 
penetrate the darkness which seems to obscure thy 
vision; for when the time is ripe, all obstructions 
shall be removed, and thou shalt see as through a 
magnifying glass, and all things shall be made 
plain to thee. 



Each soul has its own influence ; each personal- 
ity leaves a trail of good or bad wherever it goes. 
Nourish the good. Stamp out the bad. Then will 
the current of true goodness swell into a great 
ocean, and all can ride over its billows safely. 



48 



PEACE 



MEDITATION" 



To thee, Spirit of Love and Wisdom, we 
turn this day from out the paths of darkness and 
distress. From paths of pain and sorrow we 
would turn our feet to the brighter ways of truth 
and peace. We would attune our hearts to all that 
is best and sweetest. We would sing amidst the 
crying despair the song of truth and righteous- 
ness; and thus we would go on, making brighter 
for all through our efforts both for ourselves and 
our own. 

Wherever there is an aspiring soul, wherever 
there is a desire for truth or for better conditions, 
there may the Spirit of Strength walk and be very 
near to the side of the hungry one. 

And may the Power rest near them always and 
help to assure them of the help from those, who 
like them are seeking for the best and truest. 



49 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 



Theke is a simple rhyme — 'tis true, 

And rhymes like these are never nice, 
And yet we try and scatter thru 

A pinch or two of good advice. 
Now listen and perhaps you'll learn 

Never to boast of your renown, 
For sometimes fortune's wheel may turn 

And some go up while you go down. 

Another thing which seems to me 

(The truth I know you will confess) 
That codfish aristocracy 

Is but a scaly thing at best. 
So those who think they know the most, , 

And strut around with air profound, 
Will find out to their grief some day 

That fortune's wheel is turning round. 

This world for you and me — my friend, 

Hath something more than pounds and pence, 
Then let me recommend to you 

A pound or two of common sense. 
Then for a while lay pride aside, 

Speak kind to all and do not frown, 
For fortune's wheel is on the turn — 

Some may go up while you come down. 



50 



CHEER UP 

TO THE DISHEARTENED ONES 

Unto thee will I write, and may my words in- 
spire you on to better and nobler deeds. Do not 
say u Iam unable to combat with this or that," but 
take hold of the helm and steer yonr boat into the 
rough seas of progression, and plow through its 
waters until you meet some larger vessel which 
will help you on your way ; while you may be the 
means of helping the smaller boats into peaceful 
waters. 

Launch out — be not afraid; behold I am with 
you and in time of need will not fail you. You 
are God's vessel; let all get on board and become 
enlightened by thy power of progress, that they 
may sooner reach the port of Truth in safety. 

But ever remember that thou art but an atom 
and can only help with your better teachings and 
right living to move all in its proper course. 

Be courageous; never faint at right-doing; be 
noble, kind and true, and the fruit of thy labor 
will ripen in time. 

The more you use your divine armament the 
stronger it will be. 



Every good thought is an inspiration to some 
starving soul. Send them the bread of life 
through the intelligence that has been given you 
by the Divine Creator of all good. 

51 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

EEALITY OF THOUGHT 

The universe is a vast echo-chamber, and it be- 
longs to each individual — yes, his or her very own. 
Our thoughts and their increase return to us and 
constitute our heaven or hell. 

Thoughts are more real than material things; 
the latter are used only as channels to carry them 
to us as transmitters. 

In relation to thought, ignorance is not bliss, 
and wisdom is not folly. 

Disliking people is only making a center for 
the return of our own thoughts. Even the walls 
of your home echo back the good or the bad 
thoughts expressed within its structure. 

Note — The spirit who wrote the above then 
penned the following verse, and speaking to one 
of the family, said that the verse was not original 
with himself, being one from Omar Khayyam, but 
wanted to quote it as it had a direct bearing upon 
the above: 

"I sent my soul into the Invisible, 

Some story of the after life to tell ; 
And by and by my soul returned to me and said, 

My self was heaven and hell." 



You can wear rags if you want to, but diamonds 
are yours if you command them. 

52 



TAILOR CUTS VALUELESS 

NEITHER BEAUTY NOR MONEY 

It is neither man's face nor figure, nor how 
much he leaves when he passes on, that counts ; it 
is his intellect, his true manhood, his decision for 
others according to his best judgment, that go 
forth into the world and appeal to the thinking 
man and woman. 



The soul's deepest emotions are the divinest 
thoughts. They permeate the atmosphere. They 
vibrate through our being, and journey on to 
God's great ocean of humanity. So are the purest 
principles implanted where no eye can see them; 
yet in the sunlight of the correct creative forces, 
they take root and spring forth into the most in- 
telligent fruitage. 



Let every man stand erect. If he leans on an- 
other, some day he must fail. Let each one de- 
pend upon himself and be a perfect man. 



There's plenty of room and a good seat in the 
front row for he whose life is guided by principle. 



53 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

A SPRING DAY 

To-day lias been a benediction on all the week's 
labors; and bow tbe angel world has enjoyed it, 
none can tell better than they. The beantiful sky 
overhead; the sunshine; the etheric energies; the 
birds; the newly bndding branches; the carpets 
of beautiful green ; the babbling brooks ; the fresh 
air ; the new life of spring reaching and stretching 
out its arms for Mother Nature to feed and 
nourish it into maturity: all speak of God. Yes, 
all of these are silent messengers of the great 
universal power of being, through which we hear 
the voice of the great God within each one of us. 



UNIVERSAL LOVE 

All nature works in unison, 

Love guiding and controlling. 
The seasons, with their gifts, 

On all alike bestowing. 
The treasures hid by Mother Earth 

Are free for all earth's seekers; 
The harvests of the land and sea 

Lie waiting for the reapers. 
The same great love benign, 

That holds the stars in place ; 
That stores the mighty tree of oak 

In acorn's heart of tiny space; 
That keeps the ocean's waves, 
54 



SMILES ARE BORN OF LOVE 

The mountain's base. 



In confines ever true, 

And gives each part and parcel 
In harmony its work to do. 



Nothing is wholly bad. There is good in the 
lowest of God's creatures. Stamp out the evil 
and the good will predominate. All can be good ; 
all can be godly. 



It is better to be a king in your own country 
than a peasant in some foreign land. 



Smiles are born of love. 



Since every soul is a part of the All, its dor- 
mant powers must be in keeping with the Source. 



Listen to the Inner Voice as it points out the 
Golden Way. 

Be so pure, so true, so kind, so helpful, that all 
who come within the sphere of your influence will 
be made better by it. 



AN AFFIRMATION 

Success is mine. I will succeed: 
Nothing can stop this outward need. 
Progression has come to stay with me, 
Yes, forever and for aye ! 
55 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

SOMEONE TO LOVE 

Someone to love and be kind to ; 
Someone whose f anlts you are blind to ; 
Someone who knows how yon 're yearning; 
Someone whose soul's lesson learning; 
Someone who never will slight you ; 
Someone whose height you may climb to; 
Someone who knows your emotions ; 
Someone whose heart's deep devotion; 
Someone who feels for your heart-throbs; 
Someone who knows why the heart sobs. 
All this you yearn for so truly, 
God's great machine will find surely, 
Some way to grind out the fine wheat, 
In the soul-land where all shall his own meet. 



We watch and wait the coming 

Of those we love so well. 
We want to feel their tender touch. 

We want to feel the spell 
Of the kindness, which will make us 

Sympathetic, kind and true ; 
And we love the hand that reaches 

For the hand and heart that's true. 



56 



ENDLESS CABLES 

IT IS BETTER SO 

Asm though thy path be thorny, 
And thy days are void of cheer, 

Thy heart should be the threshold 
Of all thou boldest most dear. 

And if the sun all glorious 

Should never cease to shine, 
Thou couldst not enter Heaven's gate 

To dwell in peace sublime. 

But when the clouds do gather, 

And no light comes to stay, 
Thy thoughts seem dark and gloomy: 

It is a dull, sad day. 

But it is better thus to have them 
Else couldst thou know so well, 

How most to appreciate Heaven above, 
If thou hadst known no hell 1 



Make an endless cable of thy good deeds and 
never allow it to be broken. When dark clouds 
seem to settle around thy head and make the heart 
sad, remember that no life is smooth; that the 
ones who suffer most make the greatest men and 
women. 



57 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

Eemembek thy imperfections, for by knowledge 
of them thou shalt be able to climb the golden 
stairway to a perfect existence in the life to come. 



Do not listen to the prattle of the multitude, 
but rather obey the voice of thine own conscience. 



Youk opinion is not the only one. Eespect the 
opinions of others. 



Some time your eyes shall see the silver lining of 

the darkest cloud ; 
Some time your hearts shall be content, forgetting 

all your restless mood ; 
And knowing everything has worked for good, 
The how, and when, and why shall be understood. 



No lot in life is small enough to stunt a soul. 
Lowly circumstances are no bar to high thoughts. 



Each day is a present from on high in which 
one can come a step nearer to the perfect. 

58 



EVERY EVENT AN ADMONITION 

Reputation is what your brothers and sisters 
think of yon. 

Chakactek is the value God and the angels put 
on you and know to be true. 



When the perception which has been growing 
within thee shall have taken full possession, then 
the Power transcendent and beautiful shall be 
thine. 



Live on ; to him who does his best, every object 
is a teacher, and every event an admonition. 
Every hour presents some new lesson of virtue, 
some fresh knowledge of truth, and at every exam- 
ination you will have the joy of finding that you 
have made some additional conquests of wisdom 
and nobleness. 



May it be said of me by those who knew me 
best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted 
a flower in its place, wherever a flower would 
grow. 



59 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

If you are master of yourself, you can command 
nations. 



Have a mission in life; don't be a leaner. 



A multitude of unsuccessful experiments 
proves nothing in opposition to a successful one. 



Don't look for thistles in your neighbor's yard 
when you have them growing in your own. 



You hope, you resolve, you aspire, you pray, 
And think you mount the air on wings, 
Beyond the recall of sensual things, 

."While your feet still cling to the heavy clay. 



pukity, simple and clean, come and abide in 
our hearts; and may thy radiance so go forth, 
that all may be able to sit beneath thy beams and 
drink of the glory that thou alone canst give. 



60 



EQUALITY'S WING 

FROM A SOCIALIST IN SPIRIT REALMS 

Well, the time has come and the minds are ripe 

For a new reform, I say, 
And the earth will give from her bounteous store 

Enough for the poor alway. 

What you need is men with unselfish minds 
To control most of God's great plan; 

Then Equality's wing will cover the world — 
There's enough for child, woman and man. 

Then no hunger or cold, privation or want, 
Shall submerge your great country with pain 

For the God in mankind will never be blind, 
And the way shall be pointed and plain. 

The land can be tilled and each stomach rilled, 
When the Socialist Party command; 

And the right to speak true is a treasure to you. 
So work till the world be beautiful, grand. 

Be of good cheer and work with a will, 

Until right and equality reign. 
The poor will have plenty of money to lend, 

While the rich will give over their claim. 

So just keep on working and thinking, I say, 
Until this great problem be plain; 

Send thoughts to your brother that nothing is lost, 
And all will be blessed with God's gain. 

61 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

THY DUTY 

WouLDST thou have kindness ? Then be kind. 

Wouldst thou have goodness f Then be good. 
This golden stairway all may climb, 

To reach true heavenly brotherhood. 
It is thy duty to send out some thought, 

So pure and stainless all may see its Light. 
It will vibrate to the earth's remotest spot, 

And help some brother or some sister to do 
right. 

BE DETEKMIXED 

You must be determined in this vale of tears, or 
else some one who has more emotional courage 
than you will get in his seed of natural force, and 
all the world will bend and bow to him, while you 
sit in the silence, alone, wondering why. 



Kindness is love at work. More people live out 
great poems than ever could write one. 



You must needs lay your plank high over the 
stream of censure if you would keep the mire ofr" 
your feet while passing over. 



62 



MINERALS, OR SUB-SOILS? 

WHAT AM I? 

Where ami? What am I ? And what can I know ? 
Have for centuries muddled bright brains as they 

go, 
And unanswered I find the great problem to-day. 
Individual knowledge will open the way, 
To solve and enlighten, and show forth to all, 
What great possibilities dwell within call. 
You must first examine yourselves as you stand ; 
Are you metal so precious, or poor drifting sand? 
Like a mine you 're constructed, and deep you must 

probe, 
To find out the metal which lies in your road, 
For your nature is filled with precious metals so 

rare. 
Clear away all the rubbish and you will find there 
A mine that is hidden, it needs only the light 
To make it more radiant to everyone's sight. 
These gems are your actions, and beautifully set, 
They teach all to learn to forgive and forget. 
They make mankind noble, unselfish and grand, 
And spread sweet contentment throughout all this 

land. 



'63 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

The atmosphere is actually alive with thought 
currents and emanations of various character. 
Even the most positive mind is subject to receiv- 
ing some of them. How much more, then, would" 
the sensitive one be helped or encouraged by the 
wave which might come to them ! 

Thought currents, like water, seek their own 
level. So it stands all in hand to throw out the 
highest, the best and the most loving thoughts 
that it can attain, so when it re-echoes, it will 
bring back the kindest and the best to the sender. 



To attain the greatest success in life, practise 
self-culture. This does not mean only the culture 
of the physical, but is principally the training of 
the best thoughts. 



Do not stop at trifles : they are only little peb- 
bles in the path of life to stub your toes against, 
so that you can have stronger soles put on your 
shoes. 



You must pick sound apples from the tree. The 
boys would not stone and club the trees if there 
was not sound fruit to gather. 



64 



FACTS WITHOUT FIGURES 

FACTS 

Milk-weeds grow by the wayside, 
Frogs sing their songs in the night ; 

Things of earth look queer sometimes, 
But bless your heart — they're all right. 

Apple trees blossom in the Springtime, 

The fruit gets ripe in the Fall ; 
Water never did run up-hill, 

For Nature attends to it all. 

You can't grow cherries on peach trees, 

Nor grapes on a cucumber vine ; 
You can't stop the air from vibrating, 

To try would be wasting your time. 

You can't put old heads on to children, 
Nor cause the sun to shine in the night ; 

For a Power that's Divine has taken its time 
To see that all things are done right. 

You can't force new ideas into old theological 
heads, 

And expect them to see the Light, 
For the tight fences which dead men have built 

Have blinded their natural sight. 

You're only an atom of the great whole, 
You 're needed just where you stand ; 

But the impossible is far beyond your reach — 
It is not yours to command. 

65 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

For when this world was created, 

There were no mistakes in the plan — 

Everything has come in its proper place 
Without the consent of man. 

A Power that is perfect governs it all, 

A Power that we cannot descry; 
And everything works in its proper niche, 

Irrespective of yon or I. 

MUSIC 

Music is the echo of love wafted from some dis- 
tant hill where Harmony sits enthroned. Its voice, 
like a strange bird from some far off land, lulls 
ns to sleep and we dream of a land where those 
we love are waiting to welcome ns. 

A rose-lipped sea-shell mnmnring of the Eternal 
Sea, where we all shall float on in the beantifnl 
barque, guided by unseen hands to a land of song. 

A thing of the soul, vibrating with every heart- 
throb until it is felt by all who come in touch with 
its harmonious strain. 



Generosity is a sunbeam penetrating into the 
darkest corners. 



You should be thankful that in a future existence 
each shall occupy his or her own chair. 

66 



BEWARE OF THIN ICE ! 

Some incredulous ones will say: "If you be- 
lieve there is a Providence looking out for a chance 
to save a man, just walk across some thin ice 
when there is no one in sight. Providence may 
come to your funeral, but not to your rescue.' ' 



You cannot expect a great future if you allow 
the present to pass idly by. 



If you are necessary to the world, you will 
never starve. Make the world seek for your knowl- 
edge. 



It is one of the best signs in the world to be 
tempted. Thus the Devil pays compliment to in- 
tellect. Robbers break into palaces, not dug-outs. 



FOE YOU 

Do not digress, but keep straight on, 
The path winds in and out alway, 

And you are God's own chosen one, 

To help along the world's great play. 

A drama in itself it is, 

A drama full of life and love. 

Just tread the path marked out for you ; 
The angels shout from Heaven above. 
67 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

SOWING AND REAPING 

You get what yon give in this world of onrs — 
If yon sow seeds of thistles, yon cannot plnck 

flowers. 
If yon sow seeds of jealousy, hatred and scorn, 
The reaping will bring yon many a thorn. 
Now, sow as yon will, the reaping mnst come, 
For the good and the bad as well; 
And yonr conscience, whether yon wake or sleep, 
Is either a heaven or hell. 
If yon have friends that yon know are trne, 
Use them right and they'll cling to yon; 
Bnt wonnd their hearts by nnkind words, 
And they'll seek for a friend more trne. 
Yon will have time to think of it 
Through years of grief and shame; 
And words of kindness you'll wish you had sown 
Over and over again. 

For the wrong you do will find its place, 
Whatever it be, just what you give ; 
It will come back and meet you face to face, 
Just as sure as you live. 



All Nature seems to be busy writing her own 
life for the world to read. 



Overcome fear absolutely, and absolutely noth- 
ing but God remains. 

68 



THERE ARE NO TO-MORROWS 

WAKE UP 

Come ! wake up, brother, and find that this earth 
plane is a school of progression; and if you can 
progress you can never grow old. When a man 
retires from this school of progression, he courts 
death. A fellow who quits is a coward, and Nature 
does not raise her hand in disapprobation, but says 
calmly, "Amen!" The man who works because 
it is a pleasure to do so, is a happy being: and 
when the time comes to pass on, he needs no prep- 
aration — no tickets — he is ready to go into the 
next life without fear and with a buoyant step, 
for he has done his best and learned some of the 
progressive lessons that help him on. 

Mental work is a great stimulation to bodily 
vigor. The most beautiful expression of true 
character in man or woman is bringing your good 
thoughts close to your fellow-beings and working 
them out like nuggets of gold ; then coin them into 
words that they may comfort all within the sound 
of your voice. 

Live in the present ; there are no clouds in yes- 
terday ? s sky. 

There are no to-morrows. The day is yours. 
Improve the present. You never have a lesson 
given you until you are ready to receive it. You 
progress just as fast as Dame Nature sees fit and 
no faster. So be content with the present, making 
life complete with the enjoyment of to-day. 

69 ' 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

Be grateful for the past and fill every life with 
hope as you go out to meet the world each day. 

Do not grow old; live as though you would live 
always, and when the time comes, die game, and 
pass into the next life with a determination to live 
always. 

FOE THE GEUNTEKS 

There's too much borrowed trouble 

In your world of strife, 
And those who borrow are still in debt 

When they leave earthly life. 

And there's too much imagination 

Indulged in by idle men; 
They cause every one unhappiness, 

By their whys and hows and when. 

And there's the busy toiler, 

Striving to throw some light, 
On his brother's path toward duty, 

And he works with all his might. 

He does not borrow trouble 

Which he never can repay, 
Nor imagine bubbles in the air, 

Which will never come his way. 

If all would work hard with hand or pen, 
Less room for trouble they'd see; 

For the mind would perform its duty 
In this world for you and me. 
70 



UNCONSCIOUS BUILDING 

There never was a sterner truth 
Brought to this bright world's view, 

Than that the Devil finds some work 
For idle hands to do. 

If all will work with mind and might, 
They will have less time to complain ; 

So do your duty toward all mankind, 
And find life worth living again. 

UNCOMMON SENSE 

There are people in the world who imagine that 
they have accumulated an extra stock of it; and 
they are right. The wise man winds up the clock 
of time and lets the clock do the rest. 

Time is ever moving on; no stop over; no in- 
fluence of great minds can stop the mighty pulsa- 
tion of time. You build temples for your inmost 
soul to inhabit, but you know not when you do it, 
for time is ever weaving its silken web, strong and 
sure, into a beautiful life or an uncommon sense 
soul loss. 

Look well at the old timepiece ; keep it wound up 
so that it will serve you faithfully and never lose 
any time. Each act; each deed; each thought; 
each laugh; each tear — has its own place in the 
great universal book of records which is kept for 
your inheritance. Be good! 



71 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

UNSATISFIED 

Mysterious self that all behold, 
We watch the baby buds unfold, 
And wonder in our poor vain way, 
If on some distant future day, 
We all shall know. 

The why and how this world began ; 
If God is God, and man is man; 
Then tell me right so I may see 
Through all this wondrous mystery — 
So I may know. 

All things thou dost permeate, 
Throughout the Church, throughout the State ; 
Has always been about the same — 
Excepting through progression's flame 
We have grown wise. 

Mysterious force without a name, 
And always hast thou been the same, 
Thou hast appealed to men — 
Creation's mighty sovereign. 
Developing thought. 

We see how men for thee have yearned ; 
Thy mighty powers have tried to learn; 
And still of all, of Nature's art 
I know of all thou art a part ; 
But I am still unsatisfied, 
And would know more. 
72 



GROWTH 

Every day is a poem to each weary heart, 

So try and take life as you find it ; 
Use the soil of your soul in God's great field, 

For the use which your God has assigned it. 
The flowers may grow in the vilest of swamps, 

The roses may bloom in the heather ; 
And the pureness of life which you plant in the 
world, 

Will grow on forever and ever. 
There are some hungry hearts that are waiting 
to-day, 

For a kind word or a smile they can treasure; 
And by lifting the load of your friend on the way, 

My boy, you'll be blessed forever. 



Enter into the future with brave hearts and 
a strong determination that all for which you most 
yearn may be yours ; and in time your most sincere 
prayer shall be answered, and that for which you 
have yearned shall be your inheritance. 



Do not repine but live sublime. The whole 
world is before you. 



73 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

CULTIVATE CHEERFULNESS 

An anxious, restless temper that runs to meet 
care on its way, that regrets lost opportunities too 
much, that is over pains-taking in contrivance for 
happiness, is pursuing a foolish course. If you 
cannot be happy in one way, be happy in another, 
and this faculty of disposition wants but little 
encouragement to brighten all the hours of your 
life. 

Many people run after happiness like an absent- 
minded man hunting for his hat when he has it 
upon his own head. Look for happiness in your 
own divine being. It is waiting to be found and 
you had better take an inventory of yourself ; then 
take a long lease in your own life's happiness. 



Hell is a condition. Conditions never kill any 
one. The true facts of all wrong-doing are what 
count against the real man or woman. Therefore 
live beauty, love, peace, hope and power, and all 
shalt thou inherit. 



Grandeur of character is born of those who live 
the most soulful lives. 



74 



DON'T GATHER THORNS 

UNDERSTAND SELF 

To understand the great problem of life, you 
must first become acquainted with yourselves. 
You are not yet ready for the great universal un- 
foldment which is strewn all along your pathway. 
You often gather thorns while the beautiful roses 
fade and die without ever being held in the tender 
embrace of some poor hungry soul who has spent 
his or her life in looking for this beautiful rose, 
and, when it was obtainable, have crushed it by 
some unkind thought or word; and in this way 
only gathered the thorns and let the sweet flower 
die because you did not know enough to nourish 
it by love and kindness into fruition. 

Try to live so as to understand self first; then 
you can command nations. 



I WILL 

If you say ' ' I will, ' ' you will always succeed ; 
But if you say i i no, ' ' there will be no need. 
For we love to be pushed — aggression is gain; 
And if you say "yes," it will not be the same. 
Just say that "I can"; just say that "I will 
And leave no out — it stands for naught still. 



75 



> ? 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

AS YOU GKOW OLD 

Isn 't it queer how your ideals change, 

As year by year you older grow? 
And so you find to your sorrow oft, 

The more you know — the less you know. 

You are taught to do right as your mothers 
thought, 

And into your minds good seeds did sow; 
But when you grow up and think for yourselves, 

The more you know — the less you know. 

And as you go down the hill of life, 

And your footsteps falter and tremble so, 

You would ne'er be content if we never should 
die, 
For the longer you live, the less you know. 



Unto the man or woman who gives to all the 
world, love, kindness and charity in all things, 
yea, unto such a one all glory, all spiritual en- 
dowments, shall be their inheritance. 



Yotje way may look like mountains if you have 
them in your mind. 

76 



HEART THROBS 



supplication- 



Dear George, don't go where I can't go, 
And say it 's all right for you, you know, 
Because men have their ' ' wild oats ' ' to sow ; 
There is no more excuse for you to be low, 
Than it is for me — so I tell you so. 

And it hurts me somehow when you say: 

"Good-by, little wife, I'll be back in a day; 

I would take you too, but the men would laugh, 

And twit me of bringing my better-half; 

So you stay at home, my dear, till I come — 

I'm sure you are better all safe at home." 

So don't tell me these things — just let me be 
A beacon-light whereby you may see 
The sin of going where I can't go, 
And mingling with those who are too low 
In your opinion for me to meet; 
I know you want to protect me, Sweet, 
But I shall feel better and be more serene, 
If your heart is untainted by things unclean. 



77 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

You cannot reform the world in a minute. It 
has taken ages to bring it up to its present state 
of true thought. When a seed is once planted, it 
is bound to grow and fill its own place in the 
world and bring forth its seed, which will also 
grow; and so on until all lands shall be impreg- 
nated with this new reform wave. Where there 
is life it is sure to be perpetual. There is no 
death. 



Man does not yet know how much his ill- 
formed habits contribute to create human suffer- 
ing and misery to those who are sensitive and born 
under planetary conditions which he knows not 
of. To be made rational he must be trained in 
principles and practices so different, that he will 
always be kind and charitable to his own species, 
and, so far as is consistent with the progress and 
well-being of the human race, to all that have con- 
scious life. 



Love is never immoral; it is the mother of all 
virtues. 



78 



KINDNESS NEVER DIES 

Natural Law, or "Divine Law," as some call 
it, governs all things, from the crudest physical 
expression up to the finest of spiritual manifesta- 
tions. 



You may die when you are fifty; but the kind 
deeds you have done will live forever. 



Unto all who live right, God's laws are like dew 
to the flowers. No heart is so black but what some 
ray of light may penetrate its secret chamber, 
and under the right conditions, bring forth the 
brightest rays of truth and purity which make the 
world better. 



A loving, tranquil spirit, not easily disturbed 
by trifling interruptions, is better than riches ; ad- 
versity is prosperity to such a soul. 



It is the small joys and hopes of life that re- 
fresh the soul, stimulate the warm, kind and gentle 
impulses of the heart, and drive from the mind 
the phantom of despair. 



79 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

If your tape-line is inaccurate, don't use it in 
measuring up other people. 

Do you like to hear your neighbors grumble? 
If not, then don't let them hear your groans. 

"As a man thinketh, so is he." This is one of 
the truest things ever written. It is evident that 
the spirit is responsible for its bodily indulgence, 
its actions, words or deeds; and whatever tends 
to degrade or defile the body must of necessity be 
bad for the soul. 

People with vivid imaginations should be 
corralled, so their horns will not puncture their 
neighbors. 

The brightest blossoms often take root in the 
muddy waters of uncleanliness. 

The toad hops farthest when he scents danger 
behind him. 

If you have any criticism to make, use it on 
yourself first, then you will be content to leave 
others alone. Be true to yourself; find out just 
how much intellectual conceit you have become 
master of. 

If you are wise you will let other people make 
the dishes to carry their own trouble. 

80 



EVERYTHING IN ITS OWN TIME 

If you wait until the chestnut-burr is wide open, 
you can then pick out the nuts without getting 
your fingers pricked. 



Men, like hogs, prefer to root where the dirt is 
softest. Rocks hurt their feelings. 



Out of the blackest dirt has come the sweetest 
flowers; out of true Christianity has come the 
divinest principles. So may it be with you. Upon 
the refuse of your dead selves can you climb to 
loftier heights. 



If you begin by lifting a half pound, in the 
future you can lift half a ton. 



Don't waste your time in placing fence posts 
as the markers of the limitations of man and 
nature, for the great wave of eternal progress will 
rise, and, in years that are yet unborn, submerge 
them. 



Time's not so precious but that you'll succeed 
In all that you do for the world's greatest need. 



Rocky paths in the material, ultimately lead 
you to an understanding and recognition of things 
spiritual. 

81 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

THE GOD IN ALL 

Look through Nature; on to Nature's God. 

The vault of blue above; below, the bright green 

sod; 
And all the jets that give the rainbow shading, 
Teach us that mind and soul are all pervading. 
The ebb and flow of tides, the mighty marches of 

worlds 
Eound worlds, each in their certain courses, 
Thou that deign the Universe o'er arches, 
That all things seen obey one Central Force. 

Love is the emblem of Eternity; it confounds 
all notion of time; it effaces all memory of a be- 
ginning, all fear of an end. 

You should use and cultivate every force which 
you possess to bring out, unfold, and express each 
divine possibility which is yours by birthright, to 
the end that you may gain the deepest, grandest 
identity with all purity and power. 



82 



THE DIVINE GATEWAY 

TIME 

Lots of time for lots of things, 
Tho someone said that time has wings ; 
Time to give, and time to take, 
Something sweet for friendship's sake; 
Time to whisper words of love, 
Time to think of worlds above ; 
Time for angel friends to come, 
Bringing gladness to your home; 
But there is no time to spare 
For unkindness anywhere. 



THE DIVINE GATEWAY 

Thku the intelligence and soul power of man 
and woman has come the best you have in life. The 
finest thoughts, the best literature, the most soul- 
thrilling music, the great mechanical and electri- 
cal inventions of the hour, the most noble expres- 
sions of the Power called Divine — yea, all of these, 
have come thru man and woman only, and not from 
some external " jealous God" which had its birth 
in the brains of primitive men now centuries dead. 
This being true, you must look to the same gate- 
way for all new expressions of eternal truth, love, 
and justice. Therefore, think, be sensible, and 
worship the known sources of all you have that is 
Divine. 

83 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

The sun behind a cloud may hide, 
But it will soon come peeping 

To see what progress you have made 
In the great field of reaping. 



Life is a sacred privilege. Do not let the golden 
moments roll idly by. To work simply to accu- 
mulate money or worldly fame is a relic of bar- 
baric times. Let the nobler impulses of the soul 
have full sway. Work with all the intensity of 
your soul to accomplish some task which, in its 
fruition, will bless the world and help make it pur- 
er, happier, and sweeter. Have a mission in life ; 
do not come and go as an ordinary man. Live 
high above the petty whims of self, and be of value 
to the world. 



If you smell of the pepper-box you must expect 



to sneeze 



When you understand more about yourselves 
you will then know more about God. 



All true progress is the result of an eternal 
struggle. 

84 



CHANGE 

Theologians usually know more of what God 
did two thousand years ago than what He is try- 
ing to do to-day. 



Will-power is like a razor-edged sword, with 
which you can carve out of the unexpressed better 
conditions of body, mind, and soul, than you now 
possess. 



Drive the plow of truth 

Deep thru the fields of thought, 
And make ready for the coining 

Of great deeds soon to be wrought. 
Knowledge is the lever to use, 

Aggressive service is the power, 
That will free the enslaved masses 

From the despots of the hour. 



ETERNAL CHANGE 

Everything in the known universe 

Is moving night and day. 
There are no stops in Nature. 

She's on the move alway. 

Each year the earth moves round the sun 

As it rushes on thru space. 
It does not stop, but goes right on, 

Just in its proper place. 

85 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

.The earth revolves at constant speed, 

Giving you day and night. 
It never stopped, as the Bible says, 

For Nature does things right. 

The weather and the seasons change, 

In accordance with the plan. 
There are no stops in Nature. 

She moves in spite of man. 

Time is ever on the move. 

'Tis so with every atom, too, 
From the rocks that make the mountains 

To the drop of tiny dew. 

The life that's in the soil to-day 

Nature changes into grain, 
.Which in time is changed into blood 

To sustain your bodies and brain. 

And the refuse from your bodies, 

Filthy tho it may be, 
Will enrich the land for greater crops. 

A perpetual change, you see. 

The blood and bones of every man 
That walks on the earth to-day 

Have come from the elements of the earth, 
Transformed in Nature's way. 



86 



CHANGE 

Everything you see before you, 
Whether houses, books, or clay, 

Is slowly but surely changing — 
Eotting, wearing, or rusting away. 

It is change, change, change ever, 

No matter where you look — 
From the shining stars above you, 

To the moss by the babbling brook. 

And your soul is ever on the change. 

It, too, moves with the rest, 
Either down the hill of misery, 

Or higher toward the blessed. 

But this Eternal Change is not by chance — 

Filled up with many flaws. 
No. Each thing moves in its proper course, 

In harmony with Natural laws. 



87 



THE WAYSIDE OF LIFE 

THE LOOM OF LIFE 

Little by little the loom of life 

"Weaves into one great span, 
A life that is full of hope and love, 

Or despair for every man. 

Little by little the threads are spun, 

Unconscious how they lay; 
Little by little your deeds are done, 

Which are wove in your lives to stay. 

So lay the threads and weave them tight, 
And the warp weave in with care, 

And you'll get the best that is pure and strong, 
So it will hold your good deeds there. 

Then all the world shall admire its strength, 
And the thought shall go out alway, 

That all shall be helped by your weaving in life, 
To walk in the better wa^. 



Where there is Hope there is a soul near God ! 



88 



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